Multimedia resources to integrate music into your lesson plans

This post was originally published in Nick Glass’ monthly column for Curriculum Connections, an e-newsletter published by School Library Journal in partnership with TeachingBooks.net. Subscribe to this free newsletter here.

While young children explore language through the rhythm and rhyme of song, music is one of the important bonds tweens and teens share with their peer group. But no matter what age your students are, it’s likely they respond to music, providing you with an enjoyable way to connect with them.

This post is filled with multimedia online resources about books and authors that will inspire you to integrate more music (and musical references) into your lesson plans.

Biographies of Jazz Musicians with Caldecott Award Winner Chris Raschka
I vividly recall filming this movie in Chris Raschka’s New York City studio on a 100-plus degree day. Raschka almost always works with music playing in the background and his love of jazz inspired him to write and illustrate a handful of picture books about jazz artists, including Thelonious Monk in Mysterious Thelonious(Orchard, 1997). In this video, watch as Raschka transposes a Monk rhapsody into a color-based language. Wow!

An Old Song Inspired an Author’s Nickname
Song intermingles with narrative as author Kate Coombs tells the story of her nickname in this recording from the TeachingBooks.net Author Name Pronunciation Guide.

Eloise Greenfield and the Rhythms of Rap
In this original Book Reading, poet and award-winning author Eloise Greenfield shares the inspiration behind her Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning book Nathaniel Talking (Black Butterfly, 1988).

Musical Opportunities with Snow Music
Newbery Medalist Lynne Ray Perkins presents a guide for her picture book Snow Music (Greenwillow, 2003). The resource offers suggestions for activities that teachers can share with their students to encourage connections to the text and the illustrations.